2011-12 Man of the Year Winners

[chilly666]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League announced today the individual team winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year awards, selected by their respective clubs for their outstanding contributions to the local community and charitable organizations during the 2011-12 season.

From this list of finalists, representatives from IOA/American Specialty and the AHL will choose the winner of the 2011-12 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award. The AHL’s annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupré, who died in 1997 at the age of 24, following a 16-month battle with leukemia. Dupré, an AHL All-Star in 1995, played four seasons with the Hershey Bears, registering 169 points in 207 AHL games. He also skated in 35 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers.

This year’s winners of the IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year awards are:

Carter Bancks, Abbotsford Heat
Cullen Eddy, Adirondack Phantoms
Brad Mills, Albany Devils
Mike McKenna, Binghamton Senators
Casey Cizikas, Bridgeport Sound Tigers
Bobby Sanguinetti, Charlotte Checkers
Darren Haydar, Chicago Wolves
Kelsey Tessier, Connecticut Whale
Francis Pare, Grand Rapids Griffins
Brendon Nash, Hamilton Bulldogs
Joel Rechlicz, Hershey Bears
Chay Genoway, Houston Aeros
Eric Hunter, Lake Erie Monsters
Andrew Campbell, Manchester Monarchs
Mark Van Guilder, Milwaukee Admirals
Eric Neilson, Norfolk Admirals
Bryan Helmer, Oklahoma City Barons
Kyle Hagel, Peoria Rivermen
Dean Arsene, Portland Pirates
Zach McKelvie, Providence Bruins
Derek Whitmore, Rochester Americans
Ben Smith, Rockford IceHogs
Bracken Kearns, San Antonio Rampage
Ryan Garlock, Springfield Falcons
Jason King, St. John’s IceCaps
Rick Schofield, Syracuse Crunch
Brad Lukowich, Texas Stars
Ben Scrivens, Toronto Marlies
Brandon DeFazio, W-B/Scranton Penguins
Nick Petrecki, Worcester Sharks

The winner of the 2011-12 Yanick Dupré Memorial Award will be announced at a later date.

[chilly666]

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. … The American Hockey League has announced that defenseman Nick Petrecki of the Worcester Sharks has been selected the winner of the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award as the 2011-12 IOA/American Specialty AHL Man of the Year.

The award is presented annually to an AHL player for his outstanding contributions to his local community and charitable organizations. The Yanick Dupré Memorial Award winner is selected by the AHL from among 30 individual team Man of the Year honorees.

A third-year pro in the Sharks organization, Petrecki has taken the initiative to go above and beyond with regards to community outreach, establishing himself as a leader throughout central Massachusetts. Recipient of Worcester’s team Man of the Year each of the last two seasons, Petrecki has become the lead spokesman for the Sharks’ two flagship community programs, FINZ Fit Kidz and Reading is Cool. He has taken the lead in performing assemblies at schools and Boys and Girls Clubs in the Worcester area, and has read books and spoken about the importance of reading to thousands of students in the region, endearing himself and the organization to local educators.

Petrecki rallied his teammates to participate in the fourth annual Give Moore for the Holidays toy drive, inviting underprivileged children and their families to the DCU Center to receive a donation of more than $3,000 worth of toys following a Sharks game in December. He also worked with Hockey Ministries International to organize a Sharks Faith and Family Night; participated in street hockey clinics; led youth group discussions at Y.O.U., Inc., a leading child welfare and behavioral health organization; and painted a street mural to promote Athletes for a Greener Planet.

A 22-year-old native of Schenectady, N.Y., Petrecki was a first-round draft pick by the San Jose Sharks in 2007.

The AHL’s annual Man of the Year award is named after the late Yanick Dupré, who passed away in 1997 at the age of 24 following a 16-month battle with leukemia. A second-round draft pick of the Philadelphia Flyers in 1991, Dupré played four seasons in the AHL with the Hershey Bears, and participated in the 1995 AHL All-Star Game.